Colorado’s comeback falls short, lose to UCLA 64-60

With the loss, the Buffaloes fell to 1-7 on the road this season

CU Buffs

The Colorado Buffaloes erased a 14-point second half deficit, only to fall to the UCLA Bruins 64-60 in a nailbiter Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. Colorado (16-9, 7-7 Pac-12) has lost four of their last five games and is 1-7 on the road this season. 

Tad Boyle’s squad trailed 38-29 at halftime and saw their deficit increase to 14 within the first two minutes of the second half. The Buffaloes then went on a 22-8 run to tie the game 51-51 on a Tristan da Silva dunk with 6:51 remaining. UCLA’s Sebastian Mack and Lazar Stefanovic combined to score nine straight points however to put the game away. 

Mack led all scorers with 19 points. Colorado was led by former McDonald’s All-American Cody Williams’ 18 points. Da Silva added 16 points and Eddie Lampkin Jr. had 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. Buffaloes Junior KJ Simpson, who was one of 30 NCAA Division I players named to the Naismith Midseason Team earlier in the day, was held to just four points. 

Prior to Thursday’s tilt, ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi had Colorado among his next four out. With six games left before Pac-12 postseason play begins, they’ll need a strong finish if they hope to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. 

The Buffaloes will next face the USC Trojans on Saturday night. Game time is set for 10pm ET and can be seen on ESPN.